If we all die young
by HalfJillHalfJack
Summary: Volunteering as tribute was an odd feat from lowlier districts even before Katniss' time. So what possessed sixteen year old Mahli to do so? Why was a career so interested? Would you be be unafaid of death if you were already dying? *chapter 4 up
1. Chapter 1

The confining air of district eleven seemed to tighten further on reaping day. So much so Mahli thought it might snap, that people would begin to gasp for air.

But they already were.

Terrified.

Terrified of their name. Terrified that it would be chosen. For their name to kill them.

For the hunger games.

Mahli stared glassily at the sky. She couldn't help but notice how nice the day was, they way the sun shone to maintain a perfect balance of warmth and light. A perfect equilibrium.

It was such a shame that death clung to the air like shadows to the night.

Mahli faintly felt Azalea shake as she came to stand beside her. The reaping was almost upon them now. They stood like cattle to the slaughter in the marked zone awaiting the verdict of this years district elevens tributes. Or so she imagined- district eleven only knew cattle from the slabs of meat at the butcher's shop.

Mahli grasped her hand and smiled gently at her as she brushed her finger along the seam of the long sleeved cotton dress she was wearing. Azalea wasn't much older than Mahli only by a year or two, though the age showed clearly on her face.

Mahli couldn't ever remember seeing her shake so much since Royen; her boyfriend, was murdered in the hunger games two years ago. When she had been just Mahli's age.

Mahli remembered the way she had practically fallenw over the wooden box he had been returned to district eleven in and wept and clawed it as if that could bring her any satisfaction. How he was still clutching the token Azalea had given him before he had left for the Capitol.

When he promised he would return.

It was one of the hairpins she always wore, green like the leaves... It was still there; even in death he clutched the last piece of Azalea with cold bloody hands.

Her strangled cries stayed with most of the district in the night, reminding them of the decimation the games left in their wake of the dead.

Azalea had never been the same. She stared off into the distance like a glass ornament and everyone in the district seemed to walk around on eggshells just waiting for her to break.

Besides Mahli, Royen was practically all Azalea had besides a few cousins in the area.

The reaping had begun and Mahli had been wrong about the air. In the very moment when the Capitol woman with strange colored hair and feathers reached into the bowl with perfectly manicured fingers all the air in the world disappeared.

It just vanished.

And then there is a wave of self-relief and pity for the name that is called, the name that isn't yours. The name of the girl you've known for years in classes, whom you occasionally shared idle chitchat with.

The young boy that you frown at in the market as he ditched a rock at pigeon in the square.

And then they would die.

Vanish from existence.

And the district would move on with their lives, for what else was there to do?

Unless; you were one of the unlucky ones. The ones who loved those who left and never to return. Like Royen or Mahli's mother.

Mahli wondered whether the woman could feel the eminent death as she grasped the small piece of paper in her fingers. She took this moment to watch the expression of those around her; she watched the air and light leave every person's eyes in that single moment. That painful moment she had been enduring since she was twelve and not even for herself.

She hadn't even registered what happened when Azalea's name was called until she heard her gasp and grasp her hand tighter.

Mahli watched as the sea of people around them stepped back leaving Mahli and Azalea alone. Her hand was grasped tighter as if she feared Mahli would leave her as well. If she would ever live long enough to look back on that day, Mahli would think that it was in that exact moment she knew.

As Azalea clung to her hand pleadingly in despair. As she watched the light leave Azaleas eyes, as she watched the air being siphoned from all around her.

A life flashed before her eyes- but it wasn't clear just who's life she was seeing.

She watched Royen die.

Her father spoke about her mother with distant painful eyes that screamed every time he thought she was t looking.

The memories strangle her until it is impossible to breath.

"I volunteer." she found herself saying as the peacekeepers approached to take Azalea away. Away to die. Away from her.

Mahli knew her fate.

Her fate had been sealed for years.

This wouldn't change anything. If anything it might give her short insignificant life some purpose.

If she couldn't save herself she was going to save Azalea.

She couldn't stand the pain in her eyes any longer as every image of Azalea Mahli processed in her memory assaulted her. Azalea helping her up as child, bandaging her scraped leg and scaring away bullies. How looking at her now was so different. Like she couldn't even see that strong little girl in the hollow version of her friend anymore.

It was Mahli turn to help her. It was what she deserved.

"I volunteer as tribute," she says louder with more confidence as she tried to shove off a peacekeeper that was holding Azaleas arm.

She looked back at Azalea who seemed to be somewhere else, probably with Royen.

Mahli was lead about half way to the stage before Azalea seemed to snap out of her daze and protest. Mahli clasped her eyes shut tightly as she heard Azalea wail, loud and painful like when Royen died.

In her daze after climbing the stairs to the podium she heard the Capitol lady vaguely say something about volunteering and watched as Royen's brother Michael hold Azalea back with confused and pained eyes.

"A volunteer how strange in such a... District." the woman settled on.

"What's your name dear?"

Mahli barely realized she was being spoken to, "Mahli day." she said slowly blinking at the sunlight. The sun blinded her and it seemed more menacing and hot now. The balance was wrong.

The crowd remained silent in admiration and confusion as to why a young girl volunteered for a friend... when others wouldn't even think of volunteering for their own blood.

"Well lets give a warm welcome to district eleven's volunteer Miss Mahli Day." the woman spoke cheerily as she clapped her perfect hands that were soaked in death together in an awkward motion.

The people of district eleven couldn't seem to bring themselves to attempt the gesture, as all that could be heard over the sea of people was Azalea's heart wrenching cries.

The cries the people of district eleven had heard before.

And then. Not a single person couldn't understand her need to volunteer in her place as tribute.

"You can't cry when you say goodbye. If I let you in there alone you have to promise me you won't break down like at the reaping."

Mahli heard the muffled noises of Michael speaking to presumably Azalea through the thick wooden door of the justice building.

Mahli felt relief that Royen's brother would be able to at least keep an eye on Azalea when she was gone. But ever since the reaping Mahli thought she had been to late in stopping Azalea from cracking open like a walnut.

She couldn't even imagine how she would react when she died.

The door opened and Azalea stood next to Michael who couldn't seem to look Mahli in the eye.

"Do you need-" he began.

"No well be fine, she'll be fine." Mahli confirmed over the top of his words as he nodded and left quickly.

"Why did you do that!" Azalea said angrily gripping at her sleeves as her arms remains tightly crossed.

"You know why. I promised." Mahli said simply not even flinching at her words.

"That doesn't mean I'll let you die for me! I don't care that you're- it doesn't make it okay." Azalea whispered harshly before she took in a large breath to stop the tears from flowing again.

"I'll make sure I die as painlessly as possible. it's more than can be said for the alternative." Mahli stated in what she thought was reassurance.

"You're not even going to try?" Azalea whispered angrily.

"Do you want me to?"

"What kind of question is that? I don't want you to die period!" Azalea shouted, even more enraged at her friend's current complacency.

As if she didn't know Mahli had always been complacent about death.

"But you already knew I was going to-"

"It's not the same! Dying for sport in front of everyone. It's not you. Not the way you wanted it." Azalea tried to rationalize with her pulling at her hair in a manic manner.

"But I want you to be alive more than anything else. You always promised me you'd live enough for both of us." Mahli stated quietly.

"Times up!" a peacekeeper's voice rang loudly over them before Azalea panicked clutching to her.

"I'm not ready for you to leave me!" Mahli heard her shout as they took her from the room. It was even worse than the crying.

Just as Mahli thought she might cry herself Michael appeared.

"Michael shouldn't you be looking after Azalea," Mahli began to ask looking worriedly at the door.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded grasping her shoulders suddenly as his eyes stared deeply into her own and hers widened in surprise.

"I could have volunteered for Royen you know-"

"Michael I-"

"But I didn't. I was older. I was his older brother and all I could do was hold Azalea and our mother as he died. She's not even- and You're not even- I-I just. Please HELP me. Help me understand this..." he choked out his eyes pleading.

But she couldn't tell him.

"I couldn't watch her die." Mahli finished in an odd sense of honesty.

"So you think she can watch as you? She's already dead Mahli!"

Michael left then, without looking back at her. His anger still remained heavy in the air in his wake. But Mahli couldn't tell if it was still directed at her or himself. 'He'd carry that anger with him forever' she thought sadly.

Mahli saw her father lastly, his grey eyes and hair softened as they embraced for the last time. All of the life was gone from him.

"Now I'll have no one," he whispered hoarsely after a few moments.

"But you already knew that." Mahli choked out still holding him.

"You know that's not the same... Brave though what you did for Azalea. She wouldn't have been able to handled It," he adds holding her at arms length his eyes far away now.

"I don't think she is, even now." Mahli added worriedly and she felt her father clutch her tighter in reassurance that he would look after Azalea.

Mahli shed her first and only tears when her father told her that death would be scary and that he now wouldn't be able to be there when it happened.

Mahli wondered if he had felt some kind of relief. Relieved that he wouldn't have to hold her for those weeks while she faded so slowly. Like her mother had before her. Alone. When her bones would protruded from her skin, when her breath slowly left her body for its final time. That nothing would be able to fix her, not all the salve or medicine would cure what she had inherited.

Mahli sometimes wondered if the disease was the only thing she inherited from her mother.

She had always known she was going to die but she never thought the cause of it would be the hunger games.

Mahli was unsettling to her team.

It was probably to do with her acceptance.

The other boy form her district was rocking beside her. He seemed younger than her by a few years and she felt a pang of pity for him.

He had his whole life ahead of him.

Unlike her.

Mahli was already going to die.

**A/N: So did you like it? I know the chapters not super long but I've written more stuff, Should I continue it? Please review and tell me what you think **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter:) and also to my lovey beater whom I love;) Okay, here's chapter two.**

Mahli stared onwards as the mentors assembled in front of them. There were two others who were to company them along with the wigged lady who had introduced herself as Sasha. There was a third victor who lived in the capitol who was to meet them there. It wasn't an impressive number all things considered but there weren't that many victors period from her district. Let alone ones that lived past the trauma. In that respect three was a more than respectable number.

The first was a gaudy thin woman who seemed to be wasting away at the seams. She is what some would call a morph, maybe? Mahli wondered for a moment if that was what she would look when her disease killed her, but that was ridiculous. She was going to be killed before long before then.

The second was a man who she recognised, he twitched every so often to look at something in the air that wasn't quite there. Mahli remembered his face from screenings of hunger games. He had won a while back, ahead of her generation, probably around her father's time. He was large and his brute strength over threw most of the tributes.

Mahli tried to listen to what they were explaining but the most she could manage was to just squeezed the small boy's shoulder reassuringly beside her to help him relax slightly. It felt good to be looking out for someone again, even in her minute gesture.

The people found her odd.

She was comforting yet complacent. It was obvious she wasn't expecting to win; she wasn't even trying to make a dent. She overheard Sasha and the male victor, Bryce talking about the acceptance period coming early. Mahli laughed at that, she accepted death a lot earlier than just the reaping.

"Mika?" Mahli called to the young boy and he turned to her glassy eyed. The conversation with the victors had taken a turn to a decidedly more gory tone. The victors moved away for a drink or whatever they did to keep the shadows of their past at bay. She had only noticed the change in mood when they moved to the other side of the carriage to where the alcohol and food. I dark sign to be sure. They're topic changed and Victor engaged Sasha in some meaningless small talk about something Capitol related.

"Why are you so nice? Is that your plan? T-then kill me?" Mika finally voiced his thoughts warily and Mahli squeezed his hand reassuringly again. Only vaguely aware that they had an audience now who were probably as equally as curious about the fact.

"No Mika it isn't... how's this, I won't kill you if you won't kill me?" she held her pinky out to the boy who she now realised must be scarcely thirteen, maybe still twelve even. She hadn't asked. He held his pinky out to hers and smiled briefly in relief even as his unanswered questions started bubbling to the surface.

"Why did you do it?" he asked suddenly, his large eyes bored into her own and she turned away.

"It's selfish really..." Mahli looked briefly towards the others who were doing a bad job at looking like they weren't eavesdropping.

Mahli had decided a long time ago she wouldn't tell people she was dying. She never wanted pity from anyone. Azalea had never treated her different and neither had her father... but she wasn't so sure about the rest of the district. Now that she was a tribute she already felt like the world pitied her, she wasn't going to add to that, even a little.

"Azalea, the girl who was chosen, I've known her my whole life. She's like my family... I guess in short it feels selfish because... I couldn't watch her die. It was hard to watch her when Royen died, did you know him?" Mahli looked back at Mika for the first time and he nodded his head gravely.

"Sort of. Everyone knew him after he came so close to winning, and everyone knew him and Azalea. The old people, in the market, they used to always talk about how they were going to get married and be together till they were as old as them... you were friends with him right?" Mika asked watching her expression carefully.

"Yeah, mostly through Azalea. They spent every second together; he had taken me aside one day and asked me to be the bridesmaid when they got married... that seems so silly now."

"You're still nuts." Mika finished shaking his head and smiled genuinely for the first time.

"I'll say. You just pushed the bar of friendship about fifty yards in district eleven." Bryce piped up laughing before Mahli heard the morph woman speak for the first time.

"People will have no friends before they volunteer for them."

Mahli wondered if she would have volunteered if she had been healthy. Her whole life would have been different. She'd have thought about marriage. Her future. She'd hold such terror for the reaping's that she wouldn't sleep.

that's what Mahli dreamt of that night, the life she'd never have.

The Capitol was even more bright and dazzling than they'd been led to believe from the television. Every corner gleamed with bright colours but held such darkness in its shadows. It seemed... artificial. Like everyone had a secret they were keeping from one another, they were masking it in such a disarray of colours. Throwing them off the scent, like an animal might. In fact some of them DID look animal like, in their skin and in their hair.

The place they stayed was even more luxurious than the train and they were quickly swept away to see their stylists. Which had all sounded bearable until all the pulling and waxing started.

She heard murmurs from the cat like people with strange tattoo markings and feathers protruding from their eyelashes. It was interesting to see what the Capitols perception of... beauty was.

It was all just one big show.

Outlandish and outrageous.

Mahli heard snippets of their conversation. That she had amazing cheek bones and was perfectly thin. Mahli slightly scoffed at that. She was thin and gaunt due to her disease and the lack of food in the district, despite it being a farming district. It all went here. To these cat eyed multicolored freaks.

They all seemed to be mesmerized by her eyes that apparently looked like the inner webbings of leaves. That Mahli had been told in the past. Her father used to tell her she should blink more so that she wouldn't see into his soul. He said they held so many colours and to each wisdom. The flecks of brown sometimes made her eyes look like a forest in an abstract sense.

They decided to accentuate her earthy eyes with a lot of eyeliner and greens. That complimented the dark green dress that seemed to give her more of an enchanted forest being than the stupid outfits she normally saw her districts portrayed in at the parades each year.

She almost felt beautiful. Maybe the strange cat people weren't so bad.

She saw Bryce appear once she was made up and her head searched for Mika.

"He's down the hall, now hold still and let me look at you." Bryce orders gruffly taking her chin between his fingers more gently than she was expecting as she stopped her searching to look at him.

The stylists were just a shave behind, like a new shadow. So everything stayed perfect.

"We just couldn't help it. She's so pretty."

"Too pretty." the other stylist added as they spoke to Bryce who nodded in approval.

"You might get sponsors yet," he stated and Mahli frowned. What would she need those for? Her plan was to get in die quick and hope there was something better than Panem.

Mahli found Mika shortly afterwards as they stood in the chariot together. He was dressed in a more traditional district attire.

"Your so pretty." he whispered harshly to her over the sound of the crowd as they assented through the Capitol. She squeezed his hand her expression unchanged as she watched to strange colourful faces yelling and screaming in a blur.

What had she gotten herself into?

They were in the foyer after the procession and Mahli finally had time to scope out the other tributes. She recognized the districts from some of the outfits and some stared jealously at her dress. It was now glimmering different shades of green in the light like beautiful leaves.

She spotted the hardened gazes of the careers from district one and three. She noticed a boy with piercing navy eyes stare at her briefly and then speak to the career boy from one who glanced at her also before they both looked away.

Mahli turned away. Already exhausted from the nights activities. It was a laugh how Bryce was talking about sponsors a couple of hours ago. Like she had some sort of chance at living…

She could barely stand up.

Training.

They'd been briefed on the special training session where they would be ranked for a base line of beating or something.

But she didn't think she had any skills. Sure she could find food; in fact she could find food in lots more places since the crush down on supplies. She was good at setting traps and gutting an animal. But not anything killing people wise. Not that she was planning to kill anyone. Her small family was impoverish but not to the extent of people of her district. She was thin, but it was mostly due to her disease. Mahli always thought it was strange how it made her so vulnerable in some ways but took an opposite affect in others.

Mahli's bones were brittle, but that had bred endurance, she was exhausted so easily she could push through anything. She heightened eye sight and flexibility thanks to her body's ability to compensate.

She thought back to a few moments in her life when there family had really struggled. Back when Azalea heavily relied on them. She would perform acrobatics for money or food in the square.

Not that any of that mattered as skill set. Not for the statistic killing of the hunger games.

But Mahli was certain that her ability to observe was of value.

She was good at gauging reactions. She could remember things, but how do you show that to a panel of people gawking at you to throw a knife at a dummies head with as much accuracy as you could?

There was four mandatory training sessions and Mahli was content on just watching for most of it. She stood by Mika, not saying a word. It wasn't even in a protective manner. She didn't want people to hurt Mika because of her, no. She just stood there blankly watching as the tutors of sorts ran through skill sets.

She wondered over to some more survival skill set areas to see how they made traps and started fires. May as well learn something new to pass the time. And she did, she learnt lots of things through observations.

Her green eyes flickered to where the careers were fighting with spears and knifes.

She watched as the dark curly haired girl from three swung a pole at the boy from district one. He dodged it narrowly by angling his head slightly.

Blind spot. Mahli noticed lazily. Probably partially deaf in his left ear, keeping in mind he's a career it was probably a training accident. She noticed he over compensated with heavy-handed swings on his left and was very skilled in any attack to the right.

She started watching the other tributes carefully. Making a game out of what she could notice and what she could create assumptions on to pass the time.

The other tributes stared at her with curiosity, how she didn't pick up a weapon to fight with. How she stood there blankly. Not in a pathetic way. Not in an act of despair or hopelessness. Just blank.

She was blank. Unreadable. And she could tell that was unnerving most of them. But they'd wait. They'd wait to see if she was any competition, which she wasn't. But they'd wait for her individual score.

To see.

She was curious too, what the hell would she do in that room tomorrow. She had to talk to Bryce... though maybe not, he kept riding her about sponsors and her game plan.

Maybe she should talk to the morph victor.

"Put those down," the morph victor, Violet scolded Mahli harshly as she tossed the bottle of pills between her hands precariously. Shed found them on the counter and recognized them as the pills her father has once given when she had gotten particularly bad when she was thirteen. He'd saved up a lot of money for her to have them. To lessen her senses through the painful transition.

He was so certain it would be her passing.

"Hmm I never knew people took Prodorazium recreationally. It makes sense. The numbness... but why not take an antidepressants? Cheaper. Not as affective though... or strong." Mahli mumbled as she tossed them to Violet who blinked twice in translation of her words.

"So I need your help with this skill show thing." Mahli said quickly before Violet could comment.

Mahli had decided that in the end she was going to test the boundaries. The boundaries that the Capitol had put on their entire lives and they hadn't even tried to protest about them. She had been thinking more about the Capitol lately. It was something she didn't really dwell on in her past, how unfair life really was for her district. Or any of them. Being there. In the Capitol really made you realise how no one was suffering.

Not even a little bit.

Unless you counted the awful full feeling they suffered from when they wanted to eat more.

Which she didn't.

So if Mahli didn't have any hope of getting a decent score than she didn't want one at all.

She wanted a zero.

She didn't think anyone had had one of those before and suddenly had the urge to prove something. Even if to make her father laugh back home. She wondered what the tributes would think, would they laugh to? Kill her first? Or would they not even notice?

**A/N: Short and didn't go to many places I know, but I wanted to introduce another character at the beginning of the next chapter. But I basically have the next chapter done, so review and I promise I'll try and put it up as soon as I can :) **


	3. Chapter 3

Ezekiel narrowed his navy eyes in concentration as he hurled the hand held axe at his human shaped target. He smiled in satisfaction when it hit right where the heart would be.

Almost instant death.

He wasn't a fan of dragging things out. Not like some of the other careers.

It wasn't out of mercy or pity. Ezekiel had just seen enough clumsy idiots die in the games because they'd played with another tribute's life. Kill them slowly and something will go wrong he told himself.

He didn't like his thoughts to be clouded.

He'd kill them and they would be dead.

It was that simple.

He wasn't going to die.

He was going to win. He was going to win the hunger games and have the unimaginably fame and glory that went with that for the rest of his life. His family would be proud and they'd move into a nicer home. His brother wouldn't have to become a peacekeeper and move to another district, he would have the luxury to stay in his homeland at district two.

They wouldn't need to do anything anymore, they'd have all the wealth and status that they needed in their lives.

His mother could become the chair of any organization she coveted and his father would slap him on the shoulder and recognize him as a man, a real one he could contemplate giving some sort of praise to when the occasion presented itself.

He could begin his life.

Everything he'd done in his life prior had been to lead up to this moment. The hours of agonizing training at the academy, training to kill emotionless and cold since the moment he could do anything on his own.

He'd spent his whole life alone.

But now all the blisters and the broken bones would finally mean something

Something tangible.

"Ezekiel!"

He heard someone call his name in the distance and turned to face his other districts tribute Irina.

"What?" he called irritably as he pulled his axe from the targets body that gave a satisfying crunching noise and the wood splintered further, doing more damage than the initial blow had.

"But we HAVE an alliance." Ezekiel stated angrily as he sat down next to Irina on one of the weirdly colored abstract lounges. They were in their district's apartment with one of their mentors.

A career victor, just like he'd be.

"I'm not suggesting that, I was only asking if any tributes would be of use to you. You can't be too quick to knock someone useful which hinders the means for your survival. Everyone's going to die eventually anyway." he finished casually before he took a swig from his glass. Ezekiel had only just noticed how strong the alcohol must have been as the smell seared his nose.

"Not me," Ezekiel said in a tone of finality that made the victors lips upturn into a sadistic smile.

"Remember that arrogance is a double edged sword boy."

"I'm not arrogant, I'm just not an idiot." Ezekiel stated flatly, he brushed off the comment and rose to his feet. He'd been void of those kind of emotions long before he'd ever set foot in the arena.

Ezekiel was kind of pissed off. He knew his mentor was right which was what was taking up most of his anger. He knew they'd cover more ground in an alliance he just didn't want to have to second-guess anyone. Feel paranoid. It just seemed so unnecessary...

It wasn't in the plan.

It was almost time for Mahli's private training session that would mark her number for the games. She waited as each tribute left the hall and she even started getting twinges of nerves when Mika left.

She wasn't sure if it was for him or what she was about to do.

Mahli looked up at the sound of her name being called. She was next.

She grasped the door handle and walked slowly through the room. She took in the faces of the sponsors, only a third seemed vaguely interested. They'd been doing this for a while now, as long as she'd been waiting in that corridor. Which had felt like an eternity.

She breathed deeply as she walked to the center of the space. She wondered what they'd do when she did, well nothing.

Her head seemed to start swaying and she couldn't tell if it was because of the colourful capitol people or whether she was getting sick again.

She carelessly moved to stand on the mat their gaze holding. She slipped to the ground and reflexively twisted her body out of the fall and flipped in a series of motions.

Her mind was suddenly somewhere else.

It was like being back home.

She was in the square, hungry and tired. But she felt as free as she had ever been in her whole life as she flexibly moved into each motion, each flip. It moved her further away from the district from their troubles, from her illness.

Just a little higher and she wouldn't have to touch anything at all.

She remembered someone, a woman, with pale blond hair and a small child who giggled in awe at her. She felt the apple hit the ground at her feet and she remembered tripping on it.

She remembered how she reflexively stopped herself from falling.

How she kept that flying feeling.

She opened her eyes and she was back in the Capitol. She watched her green eyes darting at the amused faces of the sponsors, of the game maker in that vague accent that shed never be able to quite hear properly. Like it wasn't quite English.

She watched as the distorted faces laughed in enjoyment. She wasn't flying at all.

She wasn't free.

No one was.

And she wasn't even going to live long enough to be angry about it.

She left then, her plans ruined. She said 'tada' in an emotionless tone giving off a patronizing movement before she left without being dismissed.

It was the only thing she wanted to do since she'd volunteered. Since she'd GIVEN her life away. She wanted to make her own god damn point.

And then she laughed.

Of all the things to be angry about in her current predicament, she was choosing this moment out of all the other ones.

Her slipping on a mat.

Maybe she was going insane.

Mahli sat next to Mika on the odd couch in their apartment with their mentors and stylists. She noticed Violet looked like she'd rather be anywhere else and Bryce looked uncharacteristically nervous.

He hadn't been to happy about Mahli going over her special training with just Violet. Which was rightly so as Violet had merely nodded her head and smiled when she told her of her zero score plan.

Then she had offered her one of those pills from the bottle and Mahli knew it was her way of being on her side.

Besides Violet would cut someone for those.

They were the strongest pills that took her nightmares away.

They watched silently as the numbers began to flash across the screen with the faces of the tributes with their district numbers starting with one.

The boy tribute from one, who Mahli saw fighting the other day received a nine and the girl tribute an eight.

The navy-eyed tribute from two received a ten and the girl from two a nine. The scores varied in numbers with only a few notable against the careers scores.

Mahli's face tightened as she watched Mika's face flash across the screen with only a four. Her face soon turned to confusion when a ten flashed across the screen next to her face.

The room was silent until Violets laughter filled the room.

"I knew those private lessons with Violet would pay off," Bryce said smiling widely as he slapped her on the shoulder and Mahli fought the urge to rub the pain it left in its wake.

"I don't understand," Mahli tried to search Violets face. She had told her about the accidental acrobatics show and she hadn't known what to make of what was to come.

"They were either entertained or…" she began but Mahli came to the realization all on her own.

"Stamp out a sign of defiance by making me appear..."

"Threatening." Violet finished dryly.

'I doubt the 'ta da' did me any favors..' Mahli thought sighing.

It made sense; the way she'd been acting HAD affected the other tributes. They hadn't known what to make of her until now, tonight with this score.

And now they were all going to fight over who would kill her.

Perfect television really.

Mahli knew how it worked. The careers killed the weak and the promising first. She then thought of Mika's dismal four, she'd forgotten he was beside her.

But how could she have?

She grasped his hand when she couldn't stand his shaking anymore.

The Interview section of the games was fast approaching and Ezekiel pulled at his tie in annoyance.

The thought of the silent beautiful girl from eleven not just inching at his score but having the same number didn't make him angry.

If anything it made him curious.

There was something odd and unsettling about her that every tribute seemed to feel in the air.

She didn't seem powerful. Resourceful maybe, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. She was very thin. He imagined he could break her in half. No. He wasn't worried, just curious.

And we all know how that ended for the cat.

Ezekiel gave the perfect interview. He was charming and rearing to go. He was vicious, competent and self-assured.

He was a winner.

He watched uncaring as the other tributes gave their interviews. He forced himself to listen though, his mentor's words echoing in his head 'you can't be too quick to knock someone of use to you.'

He hadn't, it's just that no one seemed to have anything useful or remotely interesting to say.

He did pay attention when the district eleven girl walked slowly onto the stage though. He realized it was the first time he'd seen her do anything.

Her voice sounded confident coming out of her frail body. But not confident in winning...

"So you volunteered for a girl in your district, your friend? why is that? Are you confident in winning?" the host Caesar asked leaning his green hair forward towards her and they almost matched for a moment.

His hair and her eyes, but her eyes had so much more depth.

Pain lingered, like it been there her whole life.

"She's already died because of the hunger games... It just didn't seem fair.," she said bluntly and he couldn't help that his mouth was slightly open like everyone else's.

No one had ever said anything so precarious about the games, in the CAPITOL, in their INTERVIEW.

It was reckless. Which was dangerous.

"She already lost the love of her life to the games. Losing someone. It's enough pain for a life time... like dying." she stated before Caesar could poke at her answer that had made the Capitol silent.

But she didn't seem too worried at her words which was what was more troubling to him.

He and everyone else relaxed as her carefully formed words fell into place rectifying her last comment but Caesar had already moved on.

"So just how DID you get that impressive score that I think in fact tied in first with district two."

Mahli paused the bright lights were disorientating her.

"I'm not sure, all I did was fall." Mahli stated honestly somehow trying to gauge the expression of a tiny figure in a box. A sponsor or the game maker, somebody...

She was being careless and she knew it.

But she half wanted to know.

Why had they been screwing with her?

She realised she would never understand even a single sadistic mind of the Capitol as she watched their lit faces from the stage.

As they laughed.

The hunger games, really WAS a just a game to these people. They didn't live in fear or terror of its approach; they didn't fight for survival in their day-to-day lives. No. Districts like Mahli's were the ones that fought for their survival.

These people looked FORWARD to this every year...

Mahli felt sick to her stomach at the full realization of it all.

The games.

The Capitol.

Dying.

REALLY dying.

It was no longer an abstract thought, her life had no more beginnings. Just an ending.

They were back in the apartment complex and Mahli blew a stray strand of hair off her face. She didn't think she was going to get any sleep tonight.

Mahli took her last night to take notice of things. Really notice, not in the clinical way she observed things. Things like how the colors of the vase in the lobby swirled together and if you relaxed your eyes a little and really looked it was like the ocean was dancing...

Mahli looked up and the elevator doors had swung shut with her district members and team. She'd forgotten to move, how strange.

"If you space out like that tomorrow no one will hesitate to kill you."

Mahli forced herself not to jump at the sound of his voice behind her. She didn't think he'd ever spoken to her directly. Any of them, and why would she want to?

Why was a career speaking to her?

She walked into the elevator and was surprised when he followed. 'No one's going to hesitate to kill me anyway.' she thought bitterly as she stared at the cold silver metal.

The navy-eyed career rolled his eyes and it took Mahli a moment to realize it wasn't at her expense. He was watching one of the mentors from another district before the doors closed behind them.

She didn't recognize the mentor or the district, unlikely a career though. He was older and seemed to have stumbled in the foyer.

Mahli could tell he was drunk... No wait, she did recognize him, she'd heard Bryce talk about him when he was trying to give a reassuring speech about victors from higher districts like theirs, 'who hardly ever won' she noted dryly.

She wondered how whoever won this year's games would ease their sorrows; she wondered whether she was standing next to him...

Mahli kept her gaze trained on the metal in front of her. He wasn't going to hurt her was he? Of course not. they weren't allowed too. Yet. He'd have just as good a chance as anyone to kill her tomorrow.

"How the weak have prevailed as victors I'll never now." Mahli was almost certain he thought he was talking to himself but she couldn't help the response that fell from her lips in an emotionless tone that over righted even his.

"Damaged people are dangerous, they know they can survive."

The elevator opened then. He left not looking back at her as he crossed the hall. Mahli wondered about his words as she thought of the drunken victor in the lobby, Bryce's twitching and vacant eyes and all the drugs that Violet took that made her eyes glassy and different. That blurred the memories...

No one really won.

But only the careers couldn't see that though. Could they?

She almost felt sorry for him for a moment, but the feeling past as she dreamt of the navy eyed tribute driving his axe in and out of Mika over and over again until his anguished cries of pain ceased. As he lied dead and motionless, his eyes wide and expressionless whilst his navy eyes glistened with light.

With happiness.

Tomorrow the sky would go red with pain.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Hey thanks for eveyone who reviewed the last chapter:0 this ones shorter but it gets the ball rolling for the story..**

Mahli chanced a look at herself in the reflection of the magnificent mirror in the hallway that morning and wished she hadn't. She looked gaunt and her eyes seemed to sporting dark circles and her normally vibrant green eyes lacked the life and warmth they normally held.

But her appearance shouldn't matter on the day of her death should it?

She saw Mika briefly at breakfast where she could barely eat anything. She was afraid it wouldn't stick.

She was having one of her ticks and her fingers were moving unnaturally. Mahli wondered if it was because of the terrified feeling that floated into her at the sight of Mika puffy eyed and sullen expression. She hadn't had those kind of ticks in a while, she wondered if it was her diseases way of telling her it would be over soon. One way or another it would be.

She tried to hide her hands under the table but was mostly unsuccessful. What was anyone going to say to you on the morning of the end of your life anyway? Caertainly not, what is with those strange movements you're making with your fingers.

Bryce gruffly told Mika to eat more saying he'd need his strength for the games and Mika shot him a look that seemed half amused. Mahli watched as Bryce showed the most affection she'd ever seen from him. He reached out and squeezed Mika's shoulder, Mahli looked away then.

Complacent and content, how she had always been.

But that was back when the only person she had to worry about dying was herself.

She kept telling herself her life could be much worse. She could be a healthy twelve and a half year old boy with shinning eyes and a future being forced to die for somebody else's amusement.

"Are you nervous?"

Mahli snapped out of her daze in the chamber where she would be brought from the floor to the arena. Her main stylist's strangely colored eyes were reflecting into her own. Mahli wondered how she made them like that, she thought to ask but didn't think it held much importance right now.

Mahli found something genuine though, in her face as she asked her. She was the one who made her look so pretty for the parade and taught her the easiest way to step in her heels for the interview. Even though she was from the Capitol she seemed naive, she just liked glitter and sparkly things, almost childlike.

You didn't have to be any other way when you never had to struggle a day in your life.

'That would change soon' Mahli thought sullenly.

"No," Mahli stated honestly after sometime. She was terrified, but she didn't feel... nervous.

She thought about her family though, about her father.

How would he move on from this?

Mahli already thought his eyes lacked light, what would he do alone with only Azalea to worry about? Azalea seemed too tragic to even consider as she imagined her shaking with Michael as they watched the opening for the games. She tried to imagine old Azalea. The Azalea who was much stronger than her, just because in this moment she felt okay to vulnerable where no one could see her. She wondered what she thought of the interview. If she snapped back to her old self for even a moment, she might of even laughed maybe. She thought about Michael and the way his eyes had bored into hers when he pleaded her to tell him, tell him why she was willing to die in the justice building.

And lastly she wondered if she would meet her mother.

Mahli had thought about the metal plates they were going to be brought up on. How all she had to do was step off the plate and her life could end there and then. On her own terms, her own decision. Not an illness, not the Capitol...

But she had dismissed the idea.

If she was dying she wanted her father and Azalea to have her, not pieces of her. Even if it was painful, she knew they would need to see her. To know that it was real.

That she really was dead. That it's not just some television program they could turn off.

She wanted her father to be able to bury her next to her mother, she wondered if she'd ever even voiced this to him suddenly and panicked.

She clutched her token in her shaking hands, which seemed to be twitching again. Mahli forced her hands tighter and it seemed to cease it mostly.

She looked up suddenly at the sound of counting, she walked slowly towards the tube. She could hear a loud roaring sound in her ears that sounded wounded and it took her a moment to realise it was her breathing.

She took a deep breath as she approached the surface. She looked at the other tributes faces, as the air seemed to pound in her ears suffocating her senses. She noticed that they were in a swamp like forest and smiled slightly at its beauty.

She spotted Mika who seemed to be quivering some yards away from her, barely in her sight. She still had to turn away though; she crushed the token further into her palm. Against her skin.

She wanted it to be the last thing she felt.

The last thing, that didn't feel like pain at least.

The strangled breathing was back but Mahli didn't think it was her own. Even the faces of the tributes that were skewed in concentration seemed to be shaking, whether in anticipation or the terror that others felt.

The counting had begun and Mahli noticed for the first time all of the supplies and weapons that were piled high in the cornucopia that glimmered in the harsh sunlight that no ones eyes were quite adjusting to.

The clock stopped and so did Mahli's breathing.

Everyone seemed to rush forward into the fray and a selective few backwards into the outlining forestry. There was blood and anguished cries as the tributes began to fall.

Mahli couldn't even register the cannon noises but she didn't want to. She clutched at her token and waited, not even inching off her platform.

She opened her eyes when hers suddenly caught blue.

No it wasn't quite blue.

It was navy.

**Please review and ill update the next chapter;)**


	5. Chapter 5

There is a moment of silence after their names have been revealed. Then Ezeikel snorts.

"I don't see how it's that funny," Mahli snaps choppily.

"Of course you don't... you know your name means death right? Or is it sick? I wasn't much for languages... especially the dead ones."

"It's better than Ezeikel. Look at me I'm strong. Could you BE any more presumptuous?"

And then he laughs and it's the most melodic sound she's ever heard. Not even the beautiful birds she heard in the fields could match the sound. She even stopped to stare at his face, searching for the light that she just heard but all she saw was his eyes narrowing at her gaze.

"What?"

"Nothing."

And then she sighed when he clutched his axe at his side tighter. She sometimes thought she was imagining it. His light.

It was laughable for her to even think it existed. He was cold and calculated. He was killer.

She once thought there was light in everyone. Though that was a long time ago. Like before she could... walk.

Mahli watched his hardened posture as they walked and knew she would never be able to comprehend the way he was raised. His life. His whole life was leading up to this moment of slaughter and what? Glory?

And her life. She threw it away so frivolously. That's why he thought she was pathetic.

Why he didn't think he needed to kill her for now.

Though now it seemed she had purpose, didn't she?

A life for a life, that made sense. In a stupid, ignorant kind of way.

Did it count if the life left alive was destroyed?

Azalea's broken form flashed before Mahli, her screams piercing. Strangled like an animal's cry, inhuman.

She couldn't help but replay Ezeikel's words in her head as they moved across the forest. "Accepting it, letting it take you and then leaving another left alive, so willingly. It's pathetic."

She shook her head, hard.

Damn career was messing with her head.

She frowned as pain shot through her. She felt her arm twitch uncontrollably and she managed to conceal it well enough. All the physical strain was taking a toll on her body and she knew it wouldn't hold out much longer.

She managed to find some more of the leaves she spotted on the first day. She didn't feel so stupid for not pocketing them there and then now. She had needed Ezeikel to know she wasn't going to kill him.

Which, now that she thought about it. Didn't make a lot of sense.

She thought about telling him. About that she was dying. Then about what he'd do, would he kill her? Probably not. He'd just wait for her to drop dead, only she wouldn't. She'd feel unimaginably pain as her body began to shut down piece by piece as it withered to nothing. She'd be shot dead with an arrow, or freeze to death before that happened.

She shook her head again when she thought of her father. No, no more painful memories for him. At least not documented ones that would replay before him... like her mothers death. She shouldn't let him see that again, should she?

She rolled the leaves around between her fingers and was startled to hear his voice.

"You killing yourself now?" she looked up to see his smirking face before her and she shook her head.

"Nope, But you knew that." she added before she put them in her mouth and chewed almost sighing in relief.

They weren't anything fancy like the deathbed medication she'd once had. Or the pills Violet swallowed every time she thought she might be starting to feel something. Even still, they numbed the pain a little and for that she was grateful.

She remembered the days her father spent, when he was more alive and present. When he taught her about which plants did what and what would help her when she was hurting more. Or when she was thirsty, like the one she'd given Ezeikel. And the ones she should never touch because they would harm her. Or kill her.

It was funny how THAT was the only plant she WAS actively searching for.

"Please. You knew the leaves wouldn't kill you. The other day, after the cornucopia, you just didn't know what they would do. Make you sick? You'd be able to recognize them, the plants that cause death."

His mouth turned upwards slightly. "You have a lot of faith in the fact I'm from district two. In truth I did know it wouldn't probably kill me per say and I know some plants, but only what I've been taught, I don't know them like you do."

"Wouldn't that be an assumption about MY district now?" Mahli asked and she would have been smiling if she weren't grimacing through her teeth and chewing the leaves until they were liquid.

"It's true though." he replied smirking as they continued on.

Mahli knew it was the only compliment she would ever get from him. And it made her feel oddly warm.

What was this arena doing to her?

There was a twitching in the nearby trees and they fell silent.

It was to small to be a person.

Before Mahli could even register what was happening she watched as Ezeikel's axe flew out of his hand and made contact with flesh. The animal barely cried out in pain when it died almost instantaneously.

Mahli watched his unmoving face as he walked towards his kill. It was a rabbit, she wasn't used to many of those. District eleven wasn't exactly the land of the plentiful.

He'd hit it right between the eyes and she was impressed they wouldn't starve to death.

She knew how to gut it but wasn't going to mock him by offering. Mahli looked up at the outlining trees surveying, now it was her turn.

He held it by its feet and turned to Mahli who was already heading for a fruit tree. She stood at the base recognizing the fruit and smiled. He turned his attention back to his rabbit and smirked, "You can't climb that the branches are too thin and the fruits easily thirty feet and besides-"

He turned around mid sentence when the fruit began falling to his feet. A piece of fruit hit his head but he was far too awestruck to notice. "How did you do that?" he couldn't even hide his awe as he squinted up to her small form forty feet in the air.

"I'm good at climbing trees," she answered simply before another piece hit his head and he frowned when she giggled.

Mahli was down the tree in seconds and Ezekiel watched in marveled fascination. She barely touched each branch, which explained how they didn't snap. His eyes followed her fluid acrobatic movements as she landed soundlessly at his feet.

He began to pick up the fruit as a distraction placing it within a cloth and then into the backpack also wrapping the rabbit.

"We should cook it now. In broad daylight." he told Mahli and she nodded. It be to risky to light a fire at night and they didn't need it for warmth purposes.

"I'll check the traps."

Mahli had set quite a few impressive ones after Ezekiel had snapped one to many twigs in frustration and had grumbled that hers would suffice. He complained how it was stupid she was good at making them since she hadn't even participated in any of the training and rolled his eyes when she claimed, "but I watched"

"Meet me hundred yards east. I want to-"

"Be able to revisit this tree, I got it Zeek."

He shot her an icy look.

"What Ezekiel's kind of a mouthful and I get the letters jumbled- Ookay I'm leaving then." Mahli cut herself off hastily as his gaze hardened.

Mahli felt pretty proud when two of the three traps were filled. She killed the small mammals with the little knife Zeek had given her. Well he had laughed when she picked one of the smallest ones he possessed, he had quite willingly offered her one after she needed to cut a branch of leaves off a tree that morning.

She didn't know whether to be offended or maybe he was just that competent in killing people. It definitely wasn't a trust thing.

Mahli headed exactly one hundred yards east of the tree when she heard the deafening canon. Her heart started racing, "Zeek?" she called out trying to keep the panic out of her voice when she saw him.

He didn't move at all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors note:/Okay so haven't updated it a while, please don't kill me. It would also probably just upset you that I've had this done without realizing it for a while now right? He he anyways...**

Mahli tried to ease the tension as she clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly in shaky movements, the food forgotten. She almost made a move to touch him, but retracted her hand at the last second. He was just so still.

"She must have been following us back at the tree. She came after me when we separated," he spoke and her eye's tracked the movement of his lips.

Mahli stared at the girl's eyes wide open. He'd killed her clean like he always did with anything; there was a fair bit of blood though.

"Pretty smart." Mahli didn't even realize she was whispering.

"Not enough though, she went after me and not you."

"I move quicker than you besides, your stronger. She wouldn't have wanted you coming after her if she'd killed me." Mahli bent down and shut her eyelids. The girl's glassy eyed stare imprinted into her mind, she felt the need to defend her actions. Or maybe just not let Ezekiel belittle her... efforts. She felt sick, how was he just standing there like that?

Someone had just died. No, someone had just been murdered. Maybe it felt different. To be the killer.

She couldn't imagine it would feel any better though.

"Which she would have, since you would have just stood there." he sighed and looked back down at Mahli who was now beside the body, her expression unreadable but she was clearly unsettled.

He lifted her up by her arm and spoke in a significantly less hard tone, "come on they've got to take her away."

They travelled further away from where the body lied so the hovercraft could take her and cooked their meat quickly.

"I'm surprised."

"At what?" Ezekiel asked through a mouthful of meat.

"That you didn't kill me earlier. She could of had another tribute in alliance or someone could have heard your fight or been following her." Mahli said counting off her thoughts as she finished eating, assessing his expression as she spoke.

"You spoke first and called me Zeek, which I don't approve of by the way," he rolled his eyes. "I'm not that careless." he almost scoffed as he took another bite.

Mahli's eyebrows rose and she said nothing. "I didn't hear her scream," she whispered finally.

"Because she didn't." Ezekiel stared at her curiously again before he stood up. "Come on, let's find somewhere to sleep."

Mahli followed in silent suit and they picked a large sturdy tree with thick branches and a good amount of foliage.

The anthem had just begun and Mahli frowned when the girls face she'd seen hours ago dead before her appeared in the sky. Her hand started shaking and there wasn't anyway to hide it.

She settled on running her hand through her hair and chanced a look at Ezekiel who was sharpening one of his knives, not even glancing her way.

Mahli paled when she realized it was probably the knife he'd killed the district seven girl with. Mahli couldn't seem to let those glassy eyes leave her memory.

How pale and lifeless she was, and all that blood... there had been so much blood.

"I have something to tell you," Ezekiel started in the most unsure tone she'd ever heard him use. Mahli looked up to his face, she felt numb as she stared into his eyes, and he was conflicted. Oh no it was over already. Her life.

He was going to kill her now.

"Just kill me fast," she whispered not tearing her gaze from him.

"I promised I would remember," he said in a similar tone and then she closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked his eyebrows quirked. He reached into the backpack and pulled out the sleeping bag and rope and she flinched.

He paused.

"You thought I was going to kill you?" and then he smiled but it was quickly replaced with a conflicted dark expression.

His eyes were clouded and far away, he was remembering something.

"We- I Need to get a leg up on the... competition." he finished carefully and he didn't even know why he needed her to believe he wasn't a heartless monster, even when he knew he was probably going to be the one to kill her.

Like she had said.

"You want to start hunting people." she spelled out for him blankly, unreadable.

Her true emotions hidden far away from him.

That was starting to get frustrating.

What made her so interesting also made her so irritating, he thought almost humorously. "I knew that already and you know I- I cant do it."

"You mean won't," Ezekiel secured the rope tightly around them and cinched it slightly tighter than necessary.

He almost looked irritated but then he looked into her eyes. He did that a lot recently it was the only way to really know what she was thinking.

"There's not really a difference to you is there?" it was worded like a question but he knew it wasn't one, not when they both knew it was true. Mahli looked away and sighed.

"So I guess we go our separate ways," Ezekiel said emotionlessly into the air after what seemed like forever had passed.

"You really don't want to kill me do you?"

"But you knew that already," Ezekiel repeated her hollow words from earlier and they fell silent.

It was early in the morning when Mahli made her departure. She moved out of the sleeping bag and knew she should have been less surprised when Ezekiel jerked to attention grasping one of his knives.

"What's wrong?" he asked his eyes darting around the bright sunlight. Had he overslept and missed his watch? No, he'd taken the first one.

"I should be heading off now… You still don't?" she left the sentence unfinished in a questioning tone.

"Not this second, I'm not even sitting." he smirked and it eased the tension as they precariously discussed her death.

He watched as she silently set herself in order. She went to give him back his knife and he shook his head. "They're weighing me down enough as it is." He bristled and she nodded hesitantly tucked it into her belt.

When they made it down the tree he had managed to palm off a few more items to her and she held them reluctantly but she smiled softly. What on earth was he doing? Shouldn't he just kill her now?

He didn't need to; it would just draw unwanted attention to his position with the hovercraft. He told himself as an afterthought. But he could feel the strain in his thoughts stretching to pretend... to rationalise away the emotion.

Bedsides, he continued the thought, she'd probably just walk straight into an alliance and just stand there like she'd done at the cornucopia. Or she'd find a nice little poisonous plant and go kill herself in a bush somewhere like she wanted everyone to think.

But the more he watched her the more he realized she probably wasn't going to do the latter…

"So I guess I hope I don't see you again." She finished and he snapped out of his thoughts alert once more, he nodded distractedly scanning the area. "I'm going north," he stated, as his goodbye and Mahli nodded knowing what he wasn't saying.

Stay clear of north then. She'd be stabbed before, so she knew what was coming just out of his reflexes. He'd barely restrained himself when she surprised him as it is. His reflexes were probably the only persons she couldn't match.

She clenched her fist in a swift motion and it shook slightly... well maybe not anymore, she was basically a sitting duck. She nodded at his statement and turned to face east further through the trees whilst north led towards a grasser area. She didn't look back towards him.

"Mahli," she froze she didn't think she'd ever heard him actually say her name before. He waited until she turned back to face him.

"You've made it this far." he left the words there.

Hanging.

It was painful and another unspoken statement left stagnant in the air. Was that what made him grab her at the cornucopia? She shook her head. She had to focus. She maneuvered through the swamp in practiced motions. Constantly taking everything in. Like she always did.

But now it held a paranoid edge.

A twig snapped under her own boot and made her gaze narrow. God she was acting like Ezeikel. Mahli wondered if he'd found another tribute. If he'd killed them already, if he was cleaning his weapons...

She wondered who would die today.

Her hand shook unstably as she grasped at a tree trunk gasping slightly and then she laughed.

Ezeikel would surely be mad at her if he saw her reflection in the sky tonight. Then he would mumble that she was pathetic and probably kill everyone and win the hunger games. That would be quick and boring.

Good.

She didn't want those sick Capitol people getting a kick out of her death. It was always something she had claimed as her own... They'd surely gotten there moneys worth from her short lived alliance with a career, the most tipped winner, the most ruthless killer... but then left her alive.

No.

Now that wouldn't do for television.

Something was coming...

**Please review, I love your feedback **


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